Into the Abyss
by GlowInTheDarkCIA
Summary: As the fire fades the world is becoming dark. With his duties fulfilled, the ashen one sets off into the wastes of the old kingdoms, waiting for the end of the world. Is this the end of his journey, or is there something below the surface?
1. Chapter 1: Ash Seeketh Embers

_(Author's note: Please feel free to review this story, any criticism you would like to add to the story would be greatly appreciated. Tell me what you like about the story or just something that needs to be fixed or tweaked to make the story more immersive or enjoyable. I'll try and update the story with new chapters daily or every two days for as long as I can. Enjoy!)_

Dark. Dark was all that remained after the fall. The abyss was a familiar prison. A path that I have walked before. The horrors that lay there were twisted beyond all comprehension. I barely held on to the sanity that was slowly leaving my person. Before that which lay below the surface was guarded by the Abyss Watchers. The once noble class of knights who fell to the horrors that they attempted to contain. As per my duty I slayed them in my quest to link the fire. They had become mad in performing their duties. The abyss finally took hold of their senses, their duties forgotten. Only the thirst of bloodshed fueled them. They proceeded to destroy themselves, killing each other for centuries for the power of the wolf's blood. The blood of the wolf gave them immense power, a power that fleeted from one individual to another for those who had sworn themselves to the blood of the great Farron Wolf. I have encountered such a power once in that battle, and narrowly escaped with my life. Beyond the arena of the Abyss Watchers lay the Catacombs of Carthus. The stinking, unholy underground that separates this life from the next. That is where I encountered the fallen lord. He who wished to gain the trinkets and desires of this accursed world through endless war and plunder of the degrading kingdoms that littered the old world. In the end, none of these possessions could save him from the abyss. The darkness and its horrors consumed him. He cried out to the gods for protection in hopes of warding off the monstrosities that were calling for his blood. I broke these gifts bestowed upon him from the gods. Three golden bracelets that kept him from the abyss where taken in order to pursue my own destiny and open the door to the land of the endless moon. My destiny to take the souls of the lords of cinder. They were the guardians of their own age as I am for my own. I fulfilled my duty in the end. I have lost many of my companions through my journeys to find the lords. I remembered the words of a fellow knight whilst on my journey, "you face death… enough death to leave you broken... time and time again". Those words held true. Anri, the good-hearted knight, succumbed to madness and became hollow. In the end, I could not save her, with tears in my eyes I put her down, no one should have to live in such agony. Grierat, the noble thief, fell in the sewers of Anor Lando. In the end, I never told him how much his optimistic glow warmed me. Sirris of the Sunless Realms, who fell on her own accord next to the grave of her grandfather. In the end, I never thanked her for her valiant assistance with the unwilling princes of Lothric. Siegward of Catarina, the onion shaped friend who fell at the conclusion of his duty. He always knew how to give me the determination to continue on my own duty. In the end, I never told him how much I valued his friendship.

In the end, there was silence.

In the end, I couldn't save my friends.

In the end, I was alone.

I pondered at the top of the ashen peak beyond the darkened bonfire, pondering my next move. I began my decent down the peak. I began to wander the ashen wastes, alone and solemn. I do not know how long I traveled. Ash covered my entire form. My once shinned and polished armor became blackened with the endless sea of grey under the blackened sun. I paused and fell to my hands and knees in my exhaustion. I did not wish to go on. Those words entered my mind yet again, "enough death to leave you broken". I was broken, the weight of this sheer loneness penetrated my very being. There was nothing left in this world for me. No friends, no duty. Only the endless sunset met me with embrace. As I gazed upwards, I looked upon a mountain jutting out of the wastes. Its peak gazed upon the sea of ash in a shadow that darkened the western approach. With indifference, I headed toward the mountain.

The accent was steep and my suit of armor was wearing on me. It was the last shred of identity I had left. It was an armor of a lowly knight, fashioned from solid iron. It might have been on the heftier side compared to the others of their ilk, but as such offer great physical absorption in exchange for its imposing weight. It had been with me since I awoke out of my sarcophagus before I faced Ludex Gundyr, a lord of his own age who failed to awake at the tolling of the bell. He instead awaited to test the mettle of those of ash who would later follow him. As the assent became more and more steep I began to thrust my sword into the softened earth that appeared midway up the mountain as the ash began to fade. Near the top of the peak my sword failed to pierce the earth and I lost my footing. I began to fall. For how far I am not certain, no light penetrated the cavernous hole I was now being consumed by, only darkness met my gaze.

Perhaps this is the end.

The sweet release from this horrid world that had taken everyone I cared for from me.

Perhaps this is where my duty ends.

Then there was silence and darkness consumed all senses.

As I plummeted I began to reminisce about what I was, who I was before I awoke in this land of monstrosities. I had a name once, as to what it was I do not recall. I remember an encompassing battlefield. I remember the screams of the dying, the pungent odor of the dead that affronted the senses, I remember the panic in my heart. I was a squire to a kind and gentle man, alas I cannot recall his name either. I do remember his gentle touch, a tap on the shoulder that would signal that I had performed well in my practices. Indeed, he was a paternal guardian over me. I do not recollect my parents, I have none of those memories to cling to. I believe I was sixteen years of age when that day arrived. The day that I fell, it was during the harvest season, or perhaps the early coming of winter? I cannot say with certainty. My master, the gentle knight, called for me in the armory. I did as I was instructed and made my way to him. He spoke to me, "By dusk we will be attacked by a neighboring kingdom, they hunger for our land and the king hath called upon every able-bodied man to join him in his defense… which is why I am bestowing upon you this set of armor." With this he turned around and lay in my hands the helm that I wear to this day, I could feel reservation in doing this in his voice. It was silver and polished, made of iron, its metal gleaming in the midday sun. I felt both astonished and confused at his notion. To become a knight of this realm took years of training, I had not heard of another child being knighted. "Sire, how doth know that I am of honorable or strong enough of character to accept such an offering?" At this he gave a small chuckle. "I hath raised you since thou were a small child not higher than my leggings. I hath seen you train, you have the passion to become part of my ranks young one." My heart was swelling with pride at the thought of going into battle with the king's knights. I hugged him and thanked him repeatedly for this most precious of gifts he bestowed upon me. As I let go he told me, "Now remember everything I hath instilled into you, what lies ahead will test you mentally, physically, and emotionally. I wish for you to contain thyself to the rear ranks, if it looks as though the day is lost, run away, Doth thy understand?" With this he pierced me with great seriousness. I agreed to this condition. He embraced me yet again. I should have listened.

At dusk, we treaded to the open field that had been the agreed upon location to do battle, it was not even a mile from the outer walls of the castle. I had done what was asked of me by my master and stood in the fifth row of the ninth column of knights that had met to do battle that day. We stood in the open grass field for a time. Only the rustle of the fallen leaves around us stirred. The silence was finally broken at the call of a bugle from the other side of the field. With this there was a short pause. Tension filled the air as to what would come next. A knight from the column next to mine shouted, "GAZE UPON THE SKY LADS! MAKE READY!" With his I turned to face the orange colored sky turn blackened with the metal of falling arrows. I turned my iron shield upwards to protect myself. Arrows pounded my shield with an almost unrelenting force, amidst the screams of those who hit by the falling projectiles. As quickly as it had started the volley stopped. I turned my head besides me and noticed that almost the entire rank had dissolved into nothing. Arrows jutted out of the ground and out of the corpses of those who fell. I began to feel panic rising from my stomach. An insatiable plea from my mind to flee. But I had a duty to fulfill. We were the king's defenders, his most honorable of knights. No… I will not leave this place, I will stand my ground and face death with honor than desert as a coward. Others of my rank believed otherwise and some fled behind the ranks. Out of the five ranks of my column before the arrow volley only 2 remained. I ended up in the front rank of my column despite what my master had told me to do. After a pause that seemed like ages pasted, another bugle sounded into the growing silence. Some of the men beside me began to shake, some muttered prayers of protection, others stood there silently… awaiting the force that stood beyond the call of the bugle. With the end of the call I could feel the earth move. Something with the force of a thousand footsteps was pounding the earth. The sun began to set. The world becoming dark. A cold breeze filled the air as an omen of what was about to unfold. We peered into the dark, with the vibrations growing and growing in strength with the passing moments. Some of the men beside me began to cry, tears running down their shaking forms. I feared for what was in the dark… of what possess the power to move earth itself. There, in the dark. I could see a form, a massive shadow moving toward us with speed. I peered into the dark, searching for finer details. They were cavalry… knights carrying lances twice their size and pointed to a sharp bite at its end. All of them pointing toward our ranks. In the dark, I heard a man's gruff voice cry out from behind me, "MAKE READY MEN! THIS IS IT! THIS IS WHERE WE MAKE OUR STAND!" With this myself and my rank raised our shields and presented them at the ready toward the oncoming horde, our spears pointed forward in the spaces between each other's shields. As they came closer I could see their details, I could see the pointed horns that protruded out of their helms, I could see the blood red cloth that covered their rides, I could see the black of their armor that shadowed the night. I raised my spear in defense as they neared my rank. In mere moments, they clashed tearing though the rank. The sounds of guttural screams and metallic clashing met with the roar of the cavalry. My spear pierced the first knight through the chest, taking my spear with him as his mount carried his body further into the ensuing fray. I began to reach for my sword that was sheathed to my belt when my body froze. The rest of my body refused to move. My neck felt hot… I couldn't breathe… "Thou shall find thy rest here, boy." A raspy and calm voice sounded from behind me. My world soon went dark. I awoke to the tolling of the bell. I couldn't speak when I climbed out of my coffin. I made due with gestures and messages afterword, I haven't since found my voice.

I cut back at the predicament at hand.

Am I still falling?

Perhaps this is an endless…

A hard surface brought an end to my questioning and darkness enveloped me once again.

I soon awoke to notice a small ring of light around me and darkness beyond that. The abyss… have I been consumed by the abyss? Have I fallen, just as the consumed king had? Is this real death? Is this what awaits us all accursed undead at the end of our duties or have been swallowed by our own madness? I tilted my helm to the ground. Bright yellow pedals met my gaze. I slowly lifted myself to my feet and grabbed my iron greatshield and sword from the ground. I was enveloped in darkness. This was unlike the abyss I have seen before that was littered in the bones of knights and troubadours past who had fell to the monstrosities that made their resting place there. It almost seemed… peaceful. A calmness overcame me. A calmness I never had felt before. I decided that it would be most wise to continue through the darkness. The air was still, and not a soul stirred. I continued aimlessly in the darkness until a voice broke its vail.

"Howdy!"


	2. Chapter 2: Beyond the Flower Bed

Flowey had sat there in the sunlight for long while after his encounter with the human.

"Such a stupid girl", he thought.

"She actually believed me!"

"Friendliness pellets!" With this Flowey chuckled to himself. If it hadn't been for Toriel saving her hide he would have that soul at this very moment.

"Oh, well she's bound to get killed anyways, she doesn't look like she would have the stomach to swat a fly let alone take on the king of monsters". He would just have to wait for the opportune moment to take her and Asgore's soul, along with the souls of the other six children who fell down here. He began to relish in how well thought out his plans where when he was interrupted by a faint, metallic chinking beyond the light of his flower bed and into the darkness beyond.

"What the…?"

Out of the darkness Flowey saw a moving shape. The metallic noise grew stronger as the shadow drew closer to the flower bed. At the edge of the yellow flower bed, where the light clashed against the darkness, a figured appeared. He thought to himself, 'another human, ohhh this keeps getting better and better!' He began his usual introduction.

"Howdy!"

"*I'm FLOWEY!"

"*FLOWEY the FLOWER!"

The figure continued to stare at him at the edge of the flower bed, half of his figure concealed in the dark. Flowey could see that the figure was well armed and armored. His armor looked worn and battle tested, the armor itself was covered in scratches and indentations alike. The figure continued to stare at the flower with a glare that seemed to penetrate right through the flowers very soul. Whoever was behind that iron helm did not seem to be amused or entertained by Flowey's introduction. Flowey began to feel dread crawling up his vine as this armored figure continued to stare at him. He let out a nervous laugh as the figure continued to stare from the edge of the light.

"ha… haha…"

"*So, uh, you're new to the underground, aren'tcha?"

The figure began to step forward, becoming completely encapsulated by the light, and began to step forward toward the flower. Flowey was becoming more and more frightened by the figure's sudden approach. It slowly walked toward the flower, its metallic clanking signaling its increasing proximity to Flowey. The figure stopped mere inches from the flower and proceeded to kneel, its blue eyes through the thin slits of the helmet showed both distrust and malice. It continued to stare down at the flower. Flowey looked up to meet its gaze and gulped, fear was taking hold of Flowey and he began to nervously shake.

"G-golly, y-you must be so confused", the flower managed to squeak out.

"So, someone ought to teach y-you how things work around here, r-right?"

"I-I guess little old me will have to do, huh?"

The figure continued to stare, its eyes still fixated on the talking flower and seemingly right through it. Flowey reluctantly began the battle.

"R-ready?"

'ohhh god!'

"H-here we go!"

Flowey stared in astonishment, 'LV 100?!' what the hell was this guy? He obviously wasn't from around here. Where did he get the souls to get that much LV? 'Was this guy some kind of mass murderer? Flowey continued to become more uncomfortable with the continuing situation. Flowey managed to find his voice under this new-found fear and curiosity, "Where did you get all of that LV?" The figure just continued to stare at the flower as it had throughout the encounter. The flower continued to speak, hoping to get out of this encounter, there was no way he could take on whatever was inside that hulking mass in his current form. 'Maybe I can get this guy on my side?' The flower thought. With this he looked back up into the slits of the helmed figure and noticed a look of both malice and distrust in whatever the flower had to say next. 'You know what, maybe it would be better to just let this guy be, besides he's probably going to go on a rampage down here anyway, no use in keeping him from it. It seems as though this guy's already after taking souls, I just need to be around when he gets to that other kid and stabs them to death with that sword of his.'

"You know what?"

"I think you already know how this works…"

"But before you go, you should know something…"

"Down here it's killed or be killed…"

"So, watch yourself out there…"

"You might be asking yourself, why would little old me be helping scary old you?"

"Well, let's just say you seem like a good guy and I would hate to see you get killed by the other monsters down here."

"Oh, and by the way…"

"There's another human stalking the underground."

"She's been consuming the souls of my friends, just for the sake of killing them!" With this Flowey gave the best mortified and tearful expression he could give.

"If you do come across her while you're down here…"

"Please end her killing spree, I'll even show you a way out of here if you do!"

Flowey searched for a response from the lumbering mass of metal that was kneeled before him, but as usual the figure continued to stare down the flower. 'Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill me…", rushed through Flowey's mind. A few minutes after Flowey finished his speech the metallic figure slowly stood up, walked around the flower and into the darkness on the opposite side of the yellow flower bed, the metallic clinking fading into the distance. As the figure disappeared into the darkness the flower was left with a higher than normal excitement. 'Phew! I'm glad that's over. Maybe this guy is just stupid enough to believe me. Not very talkative at least, at least the other human told me her name. With that the flower was left with its thoughts. But there was something else in the dark where that armored guy stepped out of… something… off. Was there someone else that Flowey couldn't see? Something… darker… something that seemed just as powerful and maybe even more frightening than the last guy. 'No', Flowey thought, "It's just my imagination playing tricks on me, that last guy just rustled me up a little bit." But, Flowey could sense that there was something watching him in the darkness across the flower bed. In mere moments the feeling left him, left him with more fear than before.


	3. Chapter 3: Onions and Goats

The ashen one continued down the trial past the flower bed, metallic clinking the only sound that broke the otherwise peaceful atmosphere of the cavern. As he walked in the darkness he thought back to his encounter with the flower. That creature reminded me of someone I met on my journeys to find the Lords of Cinder. That "friendly" attitude that concealed more ill intentions. That promise of treasure that lay conveniently across a certain bridge. Although the flower offered no such treasure, I could sense deceit in that thing's friendly façade. 'He is no better than that arse Patches'. The devil that had nearly killed me on more than one occasion through the guise of "friendship" or "helping". Although that flower did speak of other monstrosities that lay further within this cavernous hole. Perhaps there is some truth to his words. "Another human stalking the underground", how could that be? I've seen plenty undead since I awoke, but human? No, perhaps there was a misconception there. Perhaps it was another wondering undead who fell into this place. But why here? There were no Lords here, right? No reason to be gallivanting about in a place such as this. I continued to ponder as I came to a door frame amidst the surrounding darkness. Inside the frame was a room lit by some light source I could not see. The floor and walls were built of some purple stone, vines crept up these walls in a twisting manner to an arching ceiling. Across the room were two sets of stone staircases leading into another room. I suppose this must lead somewhere wherever that may be, must be better than the darkness behind me. I continued up the staircase, through the doorframe, and into the next room.

Inside were a series of stone plates on the right side of the room, a plaque and another doorway laid on the opposite side of the room. I proceeded toward the opposite side of the room, taking notice of the foot prints left on the dust ridden ground. I noticed that one set contained prints that appeared to be animalistic in nature and much larger than the triangular boot marks made from my leather and iron leggings. The other, to my astonishment, were around the same size as my own, if not a tad smaller. The flower indeed had spoken truth about there being another human in this place, but why are there no signs of a strife here? I began to further investigate the room, no blood, no body, not even a bloody scape in the dust. It appeared as though they just casually walked through here. This left me pondering as to how and why a beast that appeared to be at least twice my own size, would allow someone to enter their domain without fight. With more questions than answers, I decided to continue forth into the next room, following the tracks in the dust.

As I continued forth I saw that many of the levers that lined the walls had been pulled downwards. I soon came to a room with a large pool and a large metal and wooden bridge that spanned across it to another doorway on the opposite side. The metal portion of the bridge seemed to be laid out in a particular pattern, with any wrong movement leading to becoming spiked by spear that lay in the pores of these metal plates. Caution will be my safeguard. As I did before, I continued to follow the footprints to the other side of the bridge. I eventually came to a leafless tree, I could see a small and quaint house beyond, light penetrated through the windows of the home. Perhaps there is someone there that could assist me, perhaps the owner of those smaller footprints. I walked up to the home and proceeded to knock my heavy iron gauntlets against the wood, making a loud thud with each knock. A woman's voice called out to me from within the home.

"Just one second please, I'll be right there."

The voice sounded kind, there was a degree of gentleness to it. Could that be the voice that belonged to that smaller pair of footsteps? Perhaps they know what kind of "monsters" make their home here, as the flower had informed me. The door opened to reveal a creature I had never seen before. It stood almost three feet taller than myself, was covered in a white fluffed fur, and its head resembled that of a goat with humanoid characteristics, two small horns adorned the top of its head. It wore a gown of white sleeves and purple midsection, a coat of arms I did not recognize decorated the front of this gown. I held a tighter grip to my iron shield and carefully reached for the scabbard of my sword, preparing myself for a skirmish, when it spoke.

"Ah, do not be afraid my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. You are the second human to come through here today."

With the mention of another human, her initially cheerful demeanor became somewhat dampened.

Perhaps there is a human within this underground after all. Perhaps Flowey was indeed correct about that matter, but his mention of being, "killed by other monsters" seemed farfetched to me. This creature seemed almost motherly in appearance, I could sense no ill content in this creature, and unlike most wildlife in my travels she had not yet begun charging me. She spoke again.

"Please come in, I have a pie ready. It might be a bit cold, I hope you don't mind."

With this I silently walked into the home as Toriel disappeared into the kitchen on the opposite side of the room. Book selves lined most of the first room, with a fireplace and a cushioned chair near the back wall. All of this confused me immensely, never had I encountered any creature that did not possess the desire to kill me, let alone one that was offering me parcels of food before. Such hospitality reminded me of my journey through the sewers of Anor Londo, where I encountered Siegward sleeping next to a fire in a kitchen there. I remembered Siegward offering me some of the Estus soup he had made. We enjoyed a small period of peace amid the ensuing chaos of the silver knights patrolling the next room and the abominations that lay in the sewers just a floor above where we were sitting. "A toast, to your valor and to my duty… long may the sun shine", with a jolly chuckle he toasted the me and proceeded to fall into a much-deserved nap. I missed Siegward greatly, he truly was a friend to his dying breath. Toriel's voice broke my train of thought.

"I hope you like butterscotch."

She handed me a plate with a sizable slice covering much of the plate. She looked somewhat saddened when I gave no reply to this.

"Is there something wrong with it?" She asked in a concerned and somewhat saddened voice.

I placed the plate on a nearby table, I had no use of food since I was killed, food tasted of nothing but ash, and I had no reason or desire to be sated. She began to speak once more.

"I suppose you must be more tired than hungry." She said with a smile, she proceeded to grab my hand and led me to a room.

"Please make yourself at home, I'll be in the living room if you need me." She then departed, walking off into the next room. I couldn't remember the last time I had rested. The last bonfire I had rested at was atop the ashen peak. My legs and entire body felt exhausted from my trek up the mountain before the fall. I decided that I would take a short break, and rest my eyes. Within the room was a single bed. It appeared unmade, and had smelled of a perfume made of flowers. I had not smelled anything like it after my death. The smell of death and decay became more familiar in my travels than that of flowers. I have not used a bed either since I was alive, the thought of using it seemed alien to me, and this bed appeared to belong to someone else. I decided to sit against the western wall of the room. I leaned my shield against the wall, sheathed my sword into its scabbard, and slowly seated myself on the floor. With my back leaning against the wall and the quiet drome of the music box in the corner, my eyes began to grow heavy. I slumped my helm downwards and slowly, was encapsulated by sleep.

"Hahaha, well, well, hasn't it been all too long! It's good to see you." I could recognize that jolly old voice anywhere. I quickly opened my eyes to find myself sitting in the throne room of the reclusive giant, Yhorm of the profaned capital. It appeared in the same way as I had left it, trinkets and gold littered the large, open interior. After getting my barring, I looked directly across from where I was sitting to find my old, onion shaped friend. He was sitting with one leg over the other and his hands in his lap.

"It's good to see you my friend." Had I… just spoken? The voice almost felt as though it did not belong to me at all, it had been a long time since I had heard it.

"You seem to have found yourself in quite a pickle lad."

"Seigward I thought you were dead!" I exclaimed.

"I'm greatly sorry to inform you but… I am just an apparition. I'm here to give you some advice in your current duty."

My heart sank, for a brief moment I thought that I had my companion back, my most loyal friend.

"Don't look so down lad, you have quite an adventure to make very soon, hahaha."

"What do you mean Siegward?" I asked.

"That creature that has given you quarter within her home requires someone of your mettle. Now I know you must be confused by what her intentions might be, but fear not. Her intentions of hospitality are pure. It appears that not all of the creatures of this realm have ill intentions. She has lost quite a bit within a short period of time."

"What does that have to do with me, my friend?"

"Once you awake from your little nap, she will ask you to perform a duty… of grave importance to her."

"What might that be?"

"In time my friend, hahaha, I know how much a sense of duty is important to the undead such as the likes of us eh? Hahaha."

"Thank-you Siegward… for your clairvoyance on the matter."

"With pleasure, my friend. Now you have your own duty to fulfill. But before we part, a toast." With this he raised his right hand.

"To your duty, and our companionship! Long may the sun shine upon us! Hahaha." His jolly laugh continued to echo within the chamber. As it began to fade into the silence a shadow began to appear from behind Seigward. It's tall, lanky form stood towering over him.

"SIEGWARD!" I screamed as I stammered to my feet.

Before I could react, the phantom plunged forward, a sharp blade protruded out of the chest of my friend. A raspy voice perturbed out of the darkness of the chamber.

"We'll never amount to anything… not you… not I…" A devilish chuckle began to fill the room.

I awoke with a start to find myself in the same room, with the same music box, with the same unmade bed. I began to meditate on what Seigward had said, "your own duty to fulfill…" I sat there in the darkness, waiting for my body to stop shaking from the nightmare I had just encountered. That devilish chuckle was familiar. It belongs to someone I had known before, but I couldn't remember to whom it belonged. The music box continued to play its calming tune, a piece of pie laid in the center of the room.

After some time, I rose to my feet and grabbed my shield that had been resting on the wall beside me. Out of politeness I wrapped the pastry into a piece of cloth and placed it into a satchel on my belt. I then exited the room and proceeded to the living room. There I saw Toriel, she was sitting in a chair next to the fireplace and seemed to be deeply enthralled in a book she was reading. She looked up as she noticed my entrance to the room.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was just reading this book on snails."

I began to make a motion with my hand, writing with an invisible pencil and parchment.

Toriel seemed confused by my gesture but proceeded to walk to the other side of the room where the bookshelves stood and began scanning the first bookshelf nearest the fireplace. She began to mumble to herself as she did this, scanning shelf by shelf, book by book, till she came to one book in particular. "There it is!", she exclaimed, pulling out a leather-bound book filled with white pages, a pencil was held in place within the closed pages.

"Here you go, it's a writing journal, I had hoped that I would be giving this to someone else for school, but…" With those last words, she looked saddened again and turned her gaze toward the floor. I began to write in the blank booklet.

'Thank-you most sincerely, I am sorry I must converse with you through my manuscripts. I have…' I paused in my writing for a brief moment. 'Lost my voice, thank-you for your hospitality I am in your debt for the kindness you have shown me thus far.'

Toriel looked up as she felt me pass her the once empty booklet. She took the booklet and read the newly imprinted words. She smiled, handed the book back to me and said, "it was no trouble, I look after all of the human children that fall down here." She looked at me with a newfound curiosity. "Why is it that you're armed so well?"

I paused for a second before beginning to write. Finished, I displayed the book open in a way that Toriel could see.

'To protect myself.'

At this Toriel's face took on an appearance of both confusion and worry, "From what, if you don't mind me asking?"

I was taken aback by this statement. There were scores of creatures to protect myself from, what kind of world was this? Is there no knowledge of what happens above this mountain, no Lords of Cinder, no monstrosities of the abyss, no mad hollows? I knew that there was some measure of tranquility in the atmosphere when I awoke from that yellow flower patch, but this was beyond compare. Have I stumbled into a paradise? A place that lacked the twisted and deformed creatures I have encountered in my travels? I continued to ponder this newly antiquated fact. Seigward was right, it did appear as though not all of the creatures here had ill intent, at least not to the point of arming themselves. I then remembered that I had a question to answer, I did not wish to bring up bad memories of my journey to this point nor did I have the energy to write out the complications of my travels in length.

'I have endured an arduous journey, to be put plainly.'

Toriel seemed as though she could sense that it might have been a sensitive topic for me and decided the subject would be best left alone. We stood there in the silence of the room, I continued to contemplate on a question to ask, when Seigwards words entered my mind yet again. I began to write.

'You spoke of another human when I entered your abode, did you not?'

Toriel looked at the exposed page, her eyes appeared to water as she spoke in her calm and gentle voice, and a small smile began to form as she began speaking, taking a seat into her reading chair, "Yes, my little one. She's the child that fell down here not a day before you showed up. She's a gentle soul… I wish I could have stopped her from leaving this house… but she's determined. She refused to fight me after I tried to keep her here by force. She just refused… she has a merciful personality. I fear it might even be to a fault. I'm worried for her… about what might happen to her out there especially if she faces Asgore." Tears where visibly soaking the fur on her cheek.

I didn't know what to think at this. This woman, or creature had shown me hospitality, and to no less an armored stranger. I began to write in my new booklet. Once I finished my entry I walked over to where Toriel was sitting in her reading chair staring at the ground as her eyes continued to water. I placed an iron gauntlet gently onto her shoulder, trying my best to console her, and laid my booklet on her lap.

'I will go in search of her, I will make sure nothing malicious befalls to her.'Toriel looked up at me, looking into the slits of my helm.

"Please, it would mean a lot to me."

With this Toriel guided me down the flight of stairs and into the corridor that lead to the end of the ruins. Toriel began to speak as we moved along the walkway, "Asgore plans to use seven human souls to break the barrier to the surface world." I continued to listen in silence, not knowing who this "Asgore" was. I didn't really care, for the time being my duty was to find and protect this "human" who had fallen into this cavern. Everything else was unnecessary in completing my current duty.

We soon came to a stop. "This is the door that leads out of the ruins", Toriel said, both of us facing the closed door. She turned to the me and said, "thank-you, under all that armor I know there must be a kind-hearted child… you and she are a lot alike in that regard." With that, Toriel wrapped her arms around me, her chin resting on the top of my helm. I could feel a warm feeling inside, something that warmed me to the core. Something that not even the fire of the bonfire could compare to, it was a tender and gentle embrace, much like the one me and my master shared on the day of my death, before any of this started. I didn't want to let go.

After a few moments Toriel said, "when you find her I want you two to call me, okay, and please... stay safe will you?"

I nodded in both agreement and understanding. Toriel then began walking back from where we came, stopping at the corner of the hall to look back at me, her face had a slight glint of worry. With my back to her, I began to open the doors to the end of the ruins. I placed a gauntleted hand upon each of the large metal doors and began to slowly push them open. The wind began to howl through the opening of the door. Flakes of snow began to flutter into the hallway. I paused for a moment at the edge of the doorway. I could sense that she was still watching from the far end of the hallway. I wanted to look back and tell Toriel I would not fail in this duty, that I would protect this human with my life, that I would return her safely back to her. But I proceeded away from the door, into the snow. Into the howling winds of the storm.


	4. Chapter 4: Chilled to the Bones

Sans was sleeping at his guard post that stood along the path toward Snowdin. He was getting a well-deserved rest after today's events. There wasn't a reason to go out today. For one reason, the storm outside his post seemed to be getting worse and worse with each passing hour, and besides, he knew that Frisk would be alright with Pap watching her. Pap was really taking to Frisk after that little scuffle of theirs, and to be honest, the kid was really starting to grow on him too.

'No doubt Pap's cooking some of that spaghetti of his.' San's recoiled at the thought of eating that stuff. 'At least he's improving… I think.' Sans probed his feet up onto the window of the guard post, slowly leaning in his chair as he did this. A few hours pasted and the storm didn't seem to let up in the slightest.

Suddenly something disturbed Sans. He sat up in his chair. There was something amiss, he could feel it in his bones. 'Something must be wrong with the timeline' he thought. It was brief but something lingered. 'Whatever it is it's still here.' That thought disturbed Sans, he knew that multiple timelines came and went running parallel to each other, but they never intersected with one another, and this rift was different, more violent than any he had ever encountered. He let the thought go and tried to pick up where he left off on his nap, that odd feeling still clung to him as he leaned back into his chair.

He awoke a couple hours later, his eye sockets scanned the perimeter of the guard post through the windows. The storm had worsened to the point that he could no longer see past 10 yards in either direction down the path that headed to the ruins nor the one leading into the town of Snowdin. That feeling in his bones hadn't left him and he began to feel both intrigued and worried as to what had possibly entered the underground. It was an unexpected and unknown variable that had been thrown into this timeline, and he didn't like it. 'If whatever entered the timeline entered the underground too, then it has to either come down the path from the ruins or through the woods. Probably the woods. There's no way anything could go through the woods in a storm like this. Right?' He began to scan the path toward the ruins, waiting for whatever entered the underground to pass by the guard post. He began to worry. 'The only way something could enter the rest of the underground was through that door in the ruins.' On the other side of that door was someone who San's had enjoyed sharing his puns with, a friend, someone he made a promise to.

He began to hear a metallic clinking off into the distance in the direction of the ruins. San's thought to himself, 'if whatever this is thinks it can just walk in here and terrorize the underground, it's going to have a bad time.' He couldn't just let this thing into Snowdin. He couldn't just let this thing hurt Pap and Frisk, along with all the other monsters living there. He began to walk outside of his post, making ready for a fight with this otherworldly creature. The metallic noise began to near, its clinking becoming more and more audible as it drew closer to San's. Then, a figure emerged out of the fog and falling snow. It was dressed head to toe in a type of armor, its eyes barely visible out of the slits of the iron helm that it wore on its head, a brown, tattered scarf that it wore around its neck flailed madly in the roaring wind. It had a long-blacked shield in its left hand, an odd and faded design covered most of the iron on the front side of this shield. A scabbard, hooked onto the belt of the figure, had an intricate design made of a golden thread. The helm that stuck out of the scabbard, was blackened, its handle was wrapped in what appeared to be horns of some ancient beast. The armor figure stared at Sans in the middle of the pathway, seemingly awaiting a response. Sans could feel the EXP radiating off the figure. 'Whatever this thing is, this doesn't seem to be its first rodeo. Just play it cool and wait for the right moment.' He thought to himself as he eyed the figure standing across from him in the pathway.

"so, what gives, you've got a reason to be down here big guy?" The skeleton said, his eyes narrowing toward the opening in the helmet, looking for a way to read the hulking, seemingly murderous mass of metal standing before him.

The figure continued to stare at the skeleton for a brief moment before reaching into a pocket attached from his belt with his free hand, producing a notebook and a pencil. He rested the iron shield onto the snow and leaning against the figure's left shoulder and began scribbling something down onto a page in the booklet. 'Not much for conversation.' Sans thought to himself. The figure soon faced the open notebook toward Sans, the edges of the pages violently rustled as the figure displayed what he had written onto the page. Two metal fingers held the book open.

'I was sent by the women of the ruins in search of the other human, to make sure that she is protected, have you seen her?'

Sans was both shocked and confused from what he had just read. He began to laugh.

"hahaha…"

'This must be some kind of trap.' Sans thought to himself. 'He must have been sent by that flower Pap was telling me about. Maybe he is telling the truth… maybe that woman behind the door really did send this guy. That doesn't explain all that EXP though… maybe he got all of it from whatever world he came from, the kind of world that a guy would need to be armed to the teeth like that…' He continued to think, peering into the eyes that were beneath that helmet. He was usually pretty good at telling what someone's intentions were by their expression. 'He doesn't look like he's lying…', but the thought of the figures EXP made him think twice about believing him. 'I haven't been wrong before…'

"alright big guy… i'll take you to her, but remember i'll keep my sockets on you…", with this, the armored figured nodded its head.

"come on, i know a shortcut." Sans began heading off into the woods, the armored figure staying close behind him. They continued to walk through the woods, their feet crunching on the new fallen snow. The storm continued to rage, its howling winds becoming even more fierce, the snow began to drop at an increasing rate. Despite the lack of visibility, Sans knew where he was going. He had taken this short-cut home hundreds of times and in even worse weather than this. He was still weary of what the armored figure's intentions were. Sans began to speak as they continued to walk through the woods.

"you know, on days like these, kids like you… should be burning in hell." The armored figure stopped, prompting Sans to turn around. Sans could see the confusion in his eyes inside that helmet.

"don't look at me like that, you know what you've done, all those people you hurt in whatever timeline you crawled out of… I can see it, all of those "execution points" you collected. lv 100, huh, judgement wise you're a pretty bad person. you wonder around, looking for people… killing them to take their money… don't you? that's just plain messed up."

Sans could see anger rising in the eyes of the kid behind the helmet. A gauntleted hand began to take pencil to paper.

'You know nothing about me, nor do you know anything about the land I hail from and yet you stand here judging me as though thou art a pious saint, sent by the gods themselves to determine my worth. I admit I have killed many times since I arrived in the land that occupies the sky above this cavern, but know this. Everything I have done I did in the name of protecting those I care for from the monstrosities that inhabit that land, and yet you believe me to be lower than dirt. A degenerate who goes around murdering the innocent to quench some insatiable bloodlust. I'm here right now because that woman of the ruins asked one simple kindness out of the near endless hospitality that she hath shown me. Speak ill of me all that you please, but I know where I stand, and it's not on the side of a murderous lunatic.'

Sans began to feel embarrassed by what he just said. He really didn't know what kind of timeline this kid fell out of, all that he knew was that it was something new. Something he didn't know anything about. 'This kid seems to have gone through a lot, and I just… he seems like a decent enough guy and I just treated him like a total jerk. He seems to know that voice from the other side of that door too, maybe I can give this guy a chance.'

Sans continued to stare at the snow as the figure continued to glare at him. The only sound being the howling of the wind and the creaking of the towering trees. At last Sans spoke.

"listen, kid… i'm sorry for the way i talked to you, you didn't deserve it."

"look, were getting pretty close to my house and my brother's a…", Sans had to stop himself, picking out the his next few words tactfully, "an 'ok' cook. you can crash at my place, Frisk, that human you were talking about, should still be hanging out with my bro. so… can we let bygones be bygones?" The skeleton reached out his opened left hand. The armor figure paused for a moment before he nodded and proceeded to extend his right hand. As he grasped the skeleton's hand, a loud fart echoed across the woods. The armored figure let go of his hand. Sans could see that figure seemed initially confused as to what caused the noise, then a look of amusement in his eyes.

"gets them every time. you know… you don't talk much, but at least you've got a funny bone under all that metal." The two continued through the woods as Sans began telling bad puns to his new acquaintance, the metal figure silently listening and enjoying every horrible punchline, even writing down ones he thought were particularly good. The storm continued to worsen as they reached the home, the howling wind cracking the bark of the trees, and snow began to fall at an alarming rate. Soon, the tracks they made disappeared… all three of them, becoming level with the rest of the snow on the forest floor.


	5. Chapter 5: Friends in Training

The wooden door barged open, hitting the wall with a loud bang that shook the rest of the walls of the house. Snowflakes began to drift into the living room, the wind howling as it made the snow dance across the carpeted floor.

"why are skeletons so calm?", a voice asked as it entered the room.

"because nothing gets under our skins", a metallic clap echoed as the punchline was delivered.

"SANS DO YOU MIND! SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" Papyrus was in the kitchen, stirring a pot with what appeared to be uncooked spaghetti.

"oh… sorry bro, were you sleeping? what did i tell you about leaving the oven on when you leave to go do something else?"

"NOT ME! FRISK! SHE WAS TRYING TO ENJOY SOME SHUT EYE WHEN YOU CAME BARGING IN HERE!"

"ohhh… sorry… pap come in here and meet our guest, i think you might like him."

"WHOSE SO GREAT THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD HAVE TO STOP MAKING MY WORLD-FAMOUS SPAGHETTI FOR ONE OF HIS MOST COOL AND BEST FRIEND?!" as he said this he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. As he walked into the room he stopped. His eye sockets grew wide and his jawbone dropped.

"pap meet, uhhhh… what's your name?"

The metal figure paused, thinking to himself before he began to write on his notepad. After scrawling something he ripped out the page and handed it to Sans.

"really, that's your name?" Sans looked perplex as he looked back up at the armored figure. The figure simply shrugged as he looked down at the skeleton.

"wow… weird world you came from… mind if i shorten it?" The skeleton and the figure exchanged a quick glance.

"meet 'A', he knows one of frisk's friends. he doesn't really talk much. i have a post i should be watching so you two…"

"YOU KNOW FRISK?! WE DATED LIKE AN HOUR AGO! KIND OF A TOUGH BREAK-UP, I MEAN WHO CAN RESIST SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME? WHO MADE THAT OUTFIT YOU'RE WEARING, ITS SO COOL, NOT AS COOL AS MINE BUT CAN YOU SHOW ME HOW YOU MADE THAT?! I MADE MINE MYSELF. PRETTY COOL, RIGHT? YOU GOT TO SEE MY ACTION FIGURE COLLECTION, ITS PERFECT FOR PRACTICING BATTLE SCENARIOS!

"… stay out of trouble…", Sans said as he looked at his brother idolizing the metal figure. Papyrus seemed as though he didn't pay attention to a word he said, continuing to throw questions at the figure. Sans chuckled to himself, closing the door as he walked out.

"i'm heading out don't destroy the house while i'm gone." With that he shut the door and started walking back up the path, back to the guard post. Sans still felt uneasy, but it wasn't 'A', there was something else bothering him, it was whatever came through the rift with 'A'.

Within the wooden home, Papyrus continued to ask 'A' a series of questions. All of which were answered sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph in writing. Then Papyrus remembered something.

"OOH YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS, PLEASE TAKE A SEAT!" Papyrus proceeded to point toward the couch that laid in the center of the living room in front of the television set. 'A' looked down at the cushioned couch before slowly sitting down. He began to sink into the cushions and had to lean forward to avoid being consumed completely, his metal chest piece touching his knee guards.

"ITS MY FAVORITE GAME-SHOW! METTATONS MY FAVORITE SEXY RECTANGLE! I WISH I LIVED IN HOTLAND!" 'A' looked on at Papyrus, extremely confused at everything he had just said. The television flashed on, taking 'A' by surprise. Words were displayed on the screen.

'STAY TUNED FOR A NEW PROGRAM – MTT.'

"NYEH! THEY SAID THAT HOURS AGO! DON'T WORRY IT'S USUALLY BETTER THAN THIS! THIS IS JUST A BAD EPISODE! DON'T JUDGE ME!" A continued to look on in both disbelief and confusion.

"HEY, YOU WAN'T TO READ A BOOK WITH ME! IT'S GOT A PRETTY GOOD PLOT TWIST!" With this 'A' began to write. Finished, he held out the book so Papyrus could see.

'Why not.'

Gleefully, Papyrus began to clap his hands together, "GREAT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL RETRIEVE THIS BOOK FOR MY NEW FRIEND'S ENJOYMENT!" As Papyrus headed toward the staircase, he remembered something.

"OHHH, RIGHT. FRISK IS STILL SLEEPING… WORRY NOT MY FRIEND! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A MASTER OF SNEAKINESS! BEHOLD!" With this he began to slowly tiptoe up the stairs toward the first door. When he got to the door he slowly turned the knob, all the while remaining on the tips of his large red boots. As 'A' continued to watch this he became both amused by the skeleton's antics, and more confused as before. He decided to take a seat on the floor, not knowing how long it would take the skeleton to retrieve this book. Papyrus disappeared behind the slightly opened door at the top of the stairs, only to reappear seconds later with a book under his arm. He slowly closed the door behind him before tiptoeing back down the stairs.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs he proceeded to lift the book into the air with outstretched arms, the cover facing 'A'.

"BEHOLD! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR ONE OF THE CROWNING ACHIEVEMENTS OF LITERARY MASTERY!"

'A' read the cover: 'Peek-a-Boo with Fluffy Bunny'.

A warm smile began to grow on 'A's face as Papyrus sat on the floor with him.

"SANS USUALLY READS ME THIS STORY BEFORE I GO TO BED. DO YOU THINK YOU COULD…", 'A' shot Papyrus a gentle yet questioning look.

"RIGHT… I ALMOST FORGOT… FRET NOT, AS YOUR NEWEST AND BESTEST FRIEND, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL READ IT TO YOU!"

With this the two sat on the floor, enjoying each other's company as Papyrus read to the armored figure.

After Papyrus finished reading the story, he closed the book and looked at 'A'.

"THAT ENDING ALWAYS GETS ME. SAY… DO YOU THINK YOU CAN… AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO… BUT… CAN YOU SHOW ME SOME NEW FIGHTING MOVES? IT'S NOT LIKE UNDYNE ISN'T GREAT OR ANYTHING BUT MOST OF HER TECHNIQUES USUALLY JUST INVOLVE COOKING STUFF AND YOU KNOW… YOU LOOK LIKE THE KIND OF PERSON TO KNOW SOME PRETTY COOL MOVES."

'A' gave a smile from under his helm and got on his feet. He began walking toward the door, with Papyrus still sitting on the floor looking up at him. 'A' looked over his shoulder, and began to beckon with an open hand for Papyrus to join him. A look of both excitement and joy formed on Papyrus' face as he quickly got to his feet and joined the armored figure as they stepped outside.

The storm had subsided since 'A' had first walked into the skeleton brothers' home. The wind settled into a low breeze and the snow had stopped falling.

"OK! I'M READY!", 'A' proceeded to pick up a long stick that was leaning against the house. He propped his shield against the house and the snow. 'A' walked up to Papyrus, and handed him the stick. He then took out his notepad and began to write.

"WHAT'S THIS? I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO TEACH ME SOME COOL MOVES!"

'A' held out his notepad.

'In order to learn how to wield a sword, you must first learn proper form. Imagine that stick is your sword and replicate my actions.'

After Papyrus had finished reading the message, 'A' placed the notepad back into its pouch and unsheathed his sword from its golden threaded scabbard. Its black blade had an ancient inscription that ran down to its twisted, horned helm. Just looking at the sword filled Papyrus with excitement, but he was hoping that he would be using a real sword rather than a stick.

With this Papyrus agreed to practice with the stick. They proceeded to train, 'A' teaching him the proper techniques and footing, Papyrus trying his best to copy his new metal friend. After a while of this, and with hardly any improvements to Papyrus' form, they stopped training.

"HOW DID I DO?", Papyrus was looking up at the helmeted figure, his eye sockets filled with expectancy and excitement. 'A' closed his eyes, a gentle smile forming on his lips. He sheathed his blade back into its scabbard and instead drew out his notepad from the pouch on his belt.

'You did excellent lad. I'm proud of you.' Those were the same words 'A' could remember his master speak to him after a long day of training. 'A' then placed a gentle gauntleted hand on Papyrus' shoulder.

"R-REALLY? DO YOU MEAN IT?" The armor figure gave a nod to this, leaving Papyrus to become more excited than before.

"I THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WITH THIS TRAINING, WILL BECOME ONE OF THE BEST ROYAL GUARDS EVER! ONCE… UNDYNE ACCEPTS ME… BUT WITH THIS TRAINING SHE'LL HAVE TO TAKE ME! AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU. YOU MIGHT EVEN BE JUST AS COOL AS FRISK. SHE'S OBVIOUSLY THE SECOND COOLEST PERSON IN THE WORLD, AFTER MYSELF OF COURSE, BUT YOU'RE LIKE A SOLID 2.5."

'A' smiled at this under his helm as they proceeded to walk back into the house. As they closed the door behind themselves there was a creak from the first door in the upstairs portion of the home as it slowly opened.

"AHHH! THAT MUST BE FRISK! COME ON DOWN LAZY BONES THERE'S SOMEONE I WAN'T YOU TO MEET!"


	6. Chapter 6: The Human

The armored figure looked to the top of the staircase to see a girl standing in the doorway of Papyrus' room. She stood about a foot shorter than himself. Her short brown hair stood up on one side of her head. She wore a blue sweatshirt with purple stripes that ran horizontally through the center, and a pair of blue shorts. A pair of brown rainboots completed her outfit. The outfit, in all, contrasted with her rosy skin. 'She doesn't seem much older than I was when I fell', the armored figure thought to himself.

She yawned as she spoke, rubbing her eyes as she did this, "What's up Papyrus? What's going on?"

"HUMAN FRISK, THIS IS MY NEW OTHER HUMAN FRIEND…" he began to whisper into the side helm of the figure.

"WHAT WAS YOUR NAME AGAIN, I KNOW IT'S 'A' BUT YOU NEED A MORE GRANDIOSE NAME, FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE EVERYTHING YOU KNOW!"

The figure reached into his pouch and pulled out the notepad, flipping to an unused page.

'Ashen one'

"ASTEN NUMBER ONE", he whispered back to the figure, "GREAT NAME BY THE WAY, I DON'T KNOW WHY SANS WOULD WANT TO SHORTEN IT!"

"I HOPE YOU LIKE READING… HE'S NOT MUCH FOR TALKING."

The armored figure stared blankly back at the skeleton, unsure as to how he managed to misread that.

"Nice to meet you Asten, Pap probably already told you my name by now."

"I DID"

Frisk started walking down the stairs, straightening out the cowlick that had formed on the one side of her head. Her small brown eyes met his blue though the slit of the helm, she had a small, gentle smile on her face as she stared at him.

A small explosion sounded in the kitchen, the spaghetti Papyrus was cooking on the stove earlier, suddenly caught fire, prompting a dog to run out the front door from its hiding spot from underneath the sink.

"SO THAT'S WHERE MY SPECIAL ATTACK WENT… YOU TWO HOLD ON FOR A MOMENT!", Papyrus ran into the kitchen, trying his best to put out the spaghetti fire, leaving the two alone at the base of the stairs.

"So how do you know Pap?", Frisk asked, still looking directly into the eyes of the armored figure.

'Sans brought me to here after I enquired about your whereabouts.'

Frisk was initially confused by this guy's choice of words, and in addition to this, why he would be looking for her.

"Why would you be looking for me?" Frisk asked, a look of confusion replacing her smile.

'The goat of the ruins has tasked me with seeking, and protecting you and as per my duty I am sworn to your service.'

Frisk was even more confused by what she had just read.

"Goat of the… you mean Tori?" The armored figure gave a silent nod to this question. Frisk seemed to become somewhat sad at the armored figure's acknowledgement.

"Oh… is she doing alright?"

'She seemed deeply saddened by your sudden departure, and even more so worried as to your wellbeing.'

"She was always so kind to me… she's…", Frisk paused.

"Like a mother to me."

'Do you wish me to escort you back?'

"No… I… have something I need to do first. You wouldn't mind… would you?"

Asten gave pause before writing again.

'Not in the slightest, you have my sword till you cross paths with your mother again.'

"She's not exactly…", Frisk paused, smiling back up at Asten.

"Thanks, it'll be nice to have the company, but please… you're not going to use that sword… are you?"

Asten paused at this question, thinking about its implications as he did so.

'As long as my duty rests with you…' he stopped writing.

'… I will do as you require of me, but if the situation requires it I will do what is necessary to fulfill my duty. Is this to thine satisfaction?'

Frisk closed her eyes as she continued to smile.

"Yes, that'll be just fine sir knight."

Frisk opened her eyes, still smiling as she looked back up into the eyes of the armored figure. She could sense that there was a kindness behind all of that cold metal and weaponry, but also something repressed. Something was hurting him, but she didn't know just what it was. Papyrus interrupted her mid-thought, running back into the room with a small plastic container filled with some deformed, black substance.

"CRISIS AVOIDED, THANKS TO MY BRILLIANT PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS!"

Frisk looked to Papyrus with that same gentle smile.

"Hey Pap, you said you knew a way out of the underground, right?"

Papyrus began to narrow his eyes deep in thought when he suddenly said,

"OH RIGHT, CONTINUE DOWN THE PATH UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN, THEN WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER."

"THAT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND."

"ANYTHING CAN ENTER THROUGH IT, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT… EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFULL SOUL… LIKE YOU!", with this he pointed at Frisk.

"THAT'S WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN. HE WANTS TO OPEN THE BARRIER WITH SOUL POWER. THEN US MONSTERS CAN RETURN TO THE SURFACE!", Asten began to look down at Frisk, a questionable and somewhat worrisome look in his eyes.

"OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU… TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU WILL HAVE TO PASS… THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE. THE KING OF MONSTERS, HE IS… WELL…", both Frisk and Asten began to look worried as to what Papyrus was going to say next.

"HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER!", a wave of relief washed over both of their faces.

"EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY! I'M CERTAIN IF YOU JUST SAY… EXCUSE ME, MR. DREEMURR… CAN I PLEASE GO HOME? HE'LL GUIDE YOU RIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!"

"Thanks Papyrus." Frisk said with a smile.

"ANYTIME… ANYWAY! THAT'S ENOUGH TALKING! I'LL BE HERE BEING A COOL FRIEND!"

"FEEL FREE TO DROP BY! NYEH HEH HEH!"

"OH, I ALMOST FORGOT I MADE YOU GUYS SOMETHING IN CASE YOU GET HUNGRY!", Papyrus held out his hands with the tuple ware, the blackened mystery food sticking to the wall of the plastic container.

"Thanks… Papyrus… you shouldn't have… really…", Frisk said with the best friendly smile she could muster. Her eyes were glued to the substance as a metallic hand grabbed it and placed it in his pouch.

"NONSENSE! I COULDN'T BARE THE THOUGHT OF MY FRIENDS GOING HUNGRY!"

"HEY… YOU GUYS SHOULD HANG OUT WITH MY BOSS UNDYNE! ASTEN, YOU COULD SHOW HER SOME OF YOUR COOL MOVES AND FRISK, YOU CAN GET AN OPORTUNITY TO SPREAD SOME OF THAT FRIEND ENERGY!"

"YEAH, LETS BE FRIENDS WITH UNDYNE! WE'LL CALL IT THE FRIENDSHIP SQUARE!", Frisk smiled back up at Papyrus.

"I'll be sure to keep an EYE SOCKET out for her." Frisk began to giggle at her own bad pun. Asten began a slow metallic clap, thoroughly enjoying the horrible pun. Papyrus on the other hand did not seemed amused in the slightest.

"YOU KNOW… IF YOU KEEP HANGING OUT WITH SANS HE'LL RUB OFF ON YOU…", Frisk recovered from her joke and looked back up at Papyrus.

"Come on Papyrus, you know it was a good one."

Papyrus took a deep breath before continuing.

"OH, AND IF YOU NEED TO REACH ME HERE'S MY PHONE NUMBER. YOU GUYS CAN CALL ME ANYTIME!", Papyrus noticed that Astren was giving him a questionable look as he said this.

"OR TEXT ME, IF PEOPLE STILL DO THAT THESE DAYS."

"I'll be sure to call you when we meet Undyne, we should probably get going."

As the two left through the front door Papyrus was saying his goodbyes, shutting the door as they started walking down the path toward the waterfall.

As they walked Frisk said, "If you're going to eat that stuff, just please do it in a way that I can't see it."

Astren passed a torn piece of paper, 'noted'.

Frisk giggled at the armored figure's attempt at puns as they continued to walk down the snowy path and into the distance.


	7. Chapter 7: Just a Feeling I've Got

Frisk and Asten continued to walk down the snowy path. The only thing disturbing the silence was the clanking of Asten's armor, the crunching of the snow underneath Frisk's leather rainboots and Asten's steel plated boots. Both were curious as to the nature of the other. Frisk was thinking to herself as to where this armored figure came from. He had a distinct and odd choice of words when he wrote to her, and why he was armed in feudal knightly gear was lost on her. Asten was curious as to why this girl was down here in a place like this and why she was dispositioned to him using force on this journey. More importantly, he was wondering as to what she, "needed to do first." On what sort of quest was this girl on… he thought to himself. After a long while of silence Frisk spoke up.

"So, you fell down here too, right… in the ruins."

Asten thought to himself, confused as to what she meant. Then he remembered and proceeded to take out his notebook, handing it to her after he had written what he wanted to say.

'Yes indeed. I was climbing atop a mountain when I lost my footing.'

Frisk giggled.

"I guess that makes two of us."

More silence.

"Hey, by any chance did you uhhh… see a talking flower."

'By chance I did. Spoke of you as being a mass murderer and promised to guide me out of the ruins if I slayed you.'

"You don't believe him… do you?" Frisk panned a worried look up at the figure.

'If I did I would probably take the next opportunity to kill you whilst you slept.' The figure looked down at her. She could see the playfulness in his eyes. She smilled.

"Hahaha… well I guess I'll have to sleep with one eye open then huh?" her face, as well as her tone became serious as she spoke again.

"That flower tried to talk me into doing things too… he just… creeps me out, you know?"

'Agreed, I could sense he had some ulterior motives as well. He seemed to be rather frightened by me when I crossed paths with him.'

Frisk began to laugh.

'What's so funny.' Asten began to look down at Frisk in a questionable manner.

"The fact that that flower was so scared of you!"

'So? I am not that terrifying, am I?'

Frisk looked up at Asten with that gentle smile of hers.

"No… at least not to me, but to some people you look like a walking apocalypse! I mean you look like you walked right out of a King Arthur book!"

'Who is this "King Arthur", is he a lord of some sort?'

"You don't know who…! Look, I'll let you borrow some of my books sometime when we get the chance, I promise."

The two continued down the path and eventually reached a cave entrance. As they walked through it became noticeably darker, but not dark enough to the point of losing visibility. It became warmer as well, with all traces of snow gone as they entered. The rivers and waterfalls within the cave hummed with the sounds of rushing water, giving the cave an atmosphere of tranquility.

A small monster began to walk up to the two. He appeared to be a young child. He had a large head, yellow body, and wore a stripped yellow sweater. Small white spikes ran down the top of his head and down his neck. He didn't appear to have arms. He spoke when he came within a foot from Frisk.

"Yo! Are you guys sneaking out to see her too? Awsome… She's the coolest, right!?"

"I wanna be just like her when I grow up… hey don't tell my parents I'm out here. Haha."

With this the child ran off further down the cavern. Frisk looked up at Asten with a questionable expression.

"Should we tell someone…?"

Asten simply shrugged and they continued further down the cavern. They eventually reached a guard post and noticed Sans behind the window. The two stopped to say hi. Frisk ran over to the wooden post with Asten right behind her.

"Hey Sans! What are you doing down here? I thought your post was up in Snowdin?"

Asten gave an enthusiastic wave.

Sans opened his eyes, he was taking a nap before the two had woken him up. Regardless, he was happy to see the two.

"what? haven't you guys seen a guy with two jobs before? fortunately two jobs means twice as many legally-required breaks." With this he began to stretch out his boney arms before setting them back down again.

"i'm going to grillby's. wanna come?"

"Shure, sounds like fun."

Asten gave a nod as they both looked at Sans.

"well. if you insist… i'll pry myself from my work…"

Sans began to walk out of his sentry post, stretching his back before facing Frisk and Asten.

"over here. i know a shortcut."

In a flash of light and a few seconds later, all three of them were standing at the entrance inside Grillby's. Asten and Frisk exchanged a confused look to one another before looking back at Sans.

"fast shortcut. huh?"

Sans gave a skeletal smile to the two of them and then turned to Asten.

"hey big guy, you mind if i have a moment alone with frisk? i've got to ask her something."

Asten gave a nod of acceptance before walking over to the entrance, seemingly standing watch for whoever walked into the restaurant. As he did this Frisk and Sans walked up to the bar on the opposite wall of the room. A monster who appeared to be made of pure fire, was cleaning cups behind the table. He wore a nice suit and a bowtie. He spoke to Sans as he took his seat.

"Hey Sans, weren't you just in here for breakfast a few minutes ago?"

"nah, i haven't had breakfast in at least half an hour. you must be thinking of brunch."

Sans turned then turned to Frisk.

"here get confy."

Frisk took her seat at the bar before Sans began to speak again.

"anyway. let's order. whaddya want…?"

"What about Asten?" She turned and looked at the metallic figure who was still standing vigil at the entrance.

"he's fine, grillby's usually pretty quick with bringing out orders."

"Alright, I think I'll have a burger."

Frisk was pretty hungry, the last thing she ate where some chips that were stashed in Papyrus' fridge. She had been secretly throwing away the spaghetti Pap was giving her. She didn't have the heart to tell him how it really tasted.

"hey that sounds pretty good." Sans turned to the suited fire monster.

"grillby, we'll have a double order of burg."

The fire monster wrote down the order and walked through a pair of double doors behind the bar table. Sans began to scratch the back of his head before saying,

"so what do you think… of my brother?"

Frisk turned her head to Sans, confused as to why he would have to ask a question like that in private.

"He's cool."

"off course he's cool. you'd be cool too if you wore that outfit every day. he'd only take that thing off if he absolutely had to. oh well. at least he washes it and by that i mean he wears it in the shower."

Frisk began laughing as she heard this.

"Wait… are you serious!?"

"yup… 100 percent kiddo… anyway, cool or not, you have to agree papyrus tries real hard. like how he keeps trying to be part of the royal guard. one day, he went to the house of the head of the royal guard… and begged her to let him be in it. of course, she shut the door on him because it was midnight, but the next day, she woke up and saw him still waiting there. seeing his dedication, she decided to give him warrior training. it's, uh, still a work in progress."

"Wow, I didn't know Pap was so… dedicated to his job. I mean I can… you know… because of when he tried to fight me…"

"yup, he's my brother alright and as you can tell he's a pretty kind-hearted guy under all that seriousness, you know…"

There was a pause as neither of them spoke for a moment until Sans spoke up again, this time in a more serious tone.

"oh yeah, i wanted to ask you something."

He paused, looking around the room and then back to Frisk.

"have you heard of a talking flower?"

Frisk thought back to her encounter with Flowey, the experience still spooked her. She didn't know Sans knew about him too.

"Yah, why do you ask?"

"so you know all about it. the echo flower. they're all over the marsh. say something to them, and they'll repeat it over and over… well, papyrus told me something interesting the other day. sometimes, when no one else is around… a flower appears and whispers things to him. flattery… advice… encouragement… predictions. weird, huh? something must be using an echo flower to play a trick on him. keep an eye out for me ok?"

Frisk was becoming disturbed by what Sans had just told her. She thought to herself, thinking back to Flowey, 'can that thing really be trying to sway other people to do things too? I know it tried to talk Asten into killing me.' She didn't want to worry Sans about it too much and opted not to tell him what the flower had tried to influence Asten to do.

"Yah… that's pretty strange… I'll definitely keep an eye out for you."

"that's not everything… you know the big guy, right?"

Frisk looked over to where Asten was standing, still in the same spot as before. She turned back to Sans.

"Yah, he seems like a nice guy… why do you ask?"

Frisk was becoming confused as to how Asten was connected to the conversation. He had already told her how he knew what the flower was, but he told her that he didn't believe what it had to say. 'Does Sans know what the flower said to him?', she thought to herself.

"he is a nice guy, he looks like he went through a lot in his world."

Frisk was confused by what Sans meant by what he meant by this.

"What do you mean by 'his world'?".

Sans paused for a brief second before continuing.

"haven't you wondered why he writes the way he writes? why he wears that old timey suit of armor? why he's armed to the teeth?"

"Yah, I have but…"

"look, just trust me when i say this, but i just know. ok? he's from a place other than our own… a world similar to ours but different in some ways. in his world, it's a very dark and violent place… a place violent enough to require a guy to need all of that armor. don't get me wrong, he's still a good guy underneath all that iron, but i could feel there's something that happened to him before he got here. so just take the time and try and talk to him in the way you do. ok."

Frisk sat there, taking in all the information Sans had just given her. She wanted to ask how Sans knew all of this but she thought that he wouldn't give her a straight answer. He was mysterious when it came to some of the things he said. Not only that, he was evasive when it came to giving her an explanation if he thought it necessary. She also thought of Asten, 'I knew something was bothering him, at least I'm not the only one who could see that…'

"I will… thanks Sans."

"that's not all…"

Frisk was staring at Sans, unsure as to how he could drop another bombshell of information in one meal.

"when that behemoth over there stumbled into this world i could feel something else come in with him. something… dark. whatever it is i don't think it'll be as friendly as our buddy over there."

Sans made a gesture with his tumb, pointing at Astren from behind him.

"just… be sure that you stick close to 'a' for me… if anyone knows what came into the underground with him, he's probably our best bet. Both of you stay safe out there for me… alright?"

Frisk gave Sans a reassuring smile.

"Thanks Sans, will."

"good."

The flame monster reappeared from behind the double doors, and placed two plates with a hamburger on each onto the bar table, across from Frisk and Sans. As the plate touched the table Sans spoke again.

"thanks for the chat frisk."

He dismounted his stool as he said,

"welp. that was a long break. can't believe i let ya pull me away from work for that long." Sans winked at Frisk as he said this.

Frisk had already started to engulf the hamburger on her plate. She quickly swallowed her last bite before speaking to Sans.

"Wait, aren't you going to eat?"

Sans turned around as he walked toward the door.

"nope it's for the big guy."

"What about the check!?"

"tell grillby to put it on my tab."

Frisk then politely asked Grillby for a box for the second hamburger as Sans opened to the door, heading out of the restaurant. Before he left, he turned to Asten, still standing guard by the entrance.

"hey… take care of frisk for me will ya?"

The armored figure replied with an affirmative nod of his helmet. Sans gave him a smile as he walked out, seemingly back to his post.

Frisk walked up to Asten, looking up at him through the slits of his helm as she always did.

"So, you ready to head out of here big guy?"

Asten took out his notebook and proceeded to write something, tearing out the page as he did so.

'With pleasure.'


	8. Chapter 8: The Knight in the Marsh

As the two were walking down the trail back toward the cavern, Asten took out his notebook and began to write.

'What was Sans inquiring about?'

Frisk read the message as he handed the notebook to her. She thought back to the conversation she had earlier with Sans. She began to feel a sense of dread at the thought of Flowey and how he could be trying to influence other people in the underground. Not only that, she was concerned as to what "dark" thing had entered the underground with Asten.

"I think Sans might know about Flowey. He didn't exactly say that but… he kind of implied that he did."

Asten began to think to himself. He didn't really think of the flower as much of a threat, but Frisk seemed to be genuinely concerned about it.

'I would not concern yourself too much with that thing, besides, if we come across it again I shall rip off every pedal on that creature's head if that would please you.'

Frisk was thankful for what Asten had just wrote. He was endearing in the way he promised to protect her. She felt safer traveling with him. She smiled back up at him as she spoke.

"Thanks, but I don't think that'll be necessary."

Frisk began to ponder about other things to ask him as they continued to walk together.

"So, you said that you meet Toriel, right?"

'Yes, I happened upon her home while I was traveling through the ruins after I fell. She seems like a kind soul. Spoke about you quite a bit.'

"Yah… that's her alright…"

Frisk seemed to be saddened by the way Asten talked about Toriel. She began to feel guilty for leaving her in the ruins. 'She was just trying to protect me…', she thought to herself, feeling a little regretful for leaving her in the way that she did.

Asten could sense that something was wrong by the way Frisk's face had saddened from her normally cheery demeanor.

'Is something troubling you?'

Frisk looked up, noticing a glint of worry in Asten's eyes. She smiled as she looked back up at him.

"I'm fine."

She could see that Asten didn't seem convinced by her response.

"I promise."

Frisk began to think of something else to say, trying to get the thoughts about Toriel out of her head. She began to think about what Sans had told her, about how Asten was from a world vastly different from her own.

"What was your life like before you fell down here?"

'It was…'

He stopped writing, thinking about the right words to describe it to her.

'… a very decrepit and horrid place. A hell on earth. It was a place of monstrosities and unparalleled savagery. I wish to never have to go back there.'

"You must have had friends, right? People who cared about you?"

Frisk could see sadness in Asten's eyes. The armored figure gave a pause before writing again.

'I wish not to speak about that.'

Frisk looked down at the ground, feeling embarrassed that she had struck a nerve.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Asten looked down at Frisk, noticing her downtrodden look. He began to write, handing her the notebook when he was finished.

'It's not your fault, you didn't know.'

Frisk looked back up at the armored figure, she could see a friendly look in his eyes. She gave him her usual gentle smile, before speaking again.

"Thanks… you know I'm here to talk if you need to…"

'Thank-you.'

The two continued into the cavern and past the guard post they had seen Sans. They found themselves in front of a tall, and narrow field of marsh grass. To the left of them was a clearing, shrouded in almost complete darkness. They continued forward and into the tall grass. They began to hear footsteps to the left of them. Asten immediately dropped to one knee, signaling Frisk to do the same. The footsteps continued to echo from the dark clearing. As the footsteps stopped a voice could be heard to the darkness.

"H… HI, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT… UHHH… REGARDING THAT HUMAN, I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER…"

The voice sounded extremely nervous. There was a pause before it spoke again.

"…HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT THEM VALIENTLY!"

"…WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM…? W-WELL… NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END… I FAILED."

There was another pause.

"W-WHAT…? YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN'S SOUL YOURSELF…"

"BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE…"

There was another pause.

"…I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN."

Asten and Frisk could hear footsteps trail off into the distance. Asten began to motion for Frisk to move again. As He began to step forward, his iron knee guards made contact with his metal plated boots, causing a distinct metallic sound to echo through the field. Neither Asten nor Frisk dared to make another move as they began to hear the sounds of heavy metal boots nearing their hiding spot in the tall grass.

Asten made ready, his large black iron shield held out in front of himself, his knee dug firmly into the ground and his right foot was planted into the soft, moist earth. Frisk was kneeling behind him, hoping to avoid any unnecessary confrontation. The thundering sound of the foreign boots came closer until they stopped just a few feet outside of the grass field. Asten could see half of its form, the other half was shrouded by the darkness of the cavern.

From what he could see it was a knight of some sort. It wore blackened armor. Its iron shoulder boards jutted over the arms, ending in a sharpened, spear-like point. The half of its helm he could see was menacing, sharp aesthetic grooves gave the helm the appearance of bearing teeth. A long red plume flowed out of the back of this helm. A single blue eye glowed within the darkness of the cavern, scanning above Asten and into the rest of the grassy field.

The knight stood there, searching for the cause of the noise. Minutes passed before the knight slowly backed away, disappearing into the darkness. Frisk and Asten took this as their opportunity to move to the opposite side of the field. Slowly, the two moved through the grass until they reached the clearing on the other side. They stood up, and seeing as though the coast was clear, Frisk reflected upon what had just happened.

She turned to Asten who was still staring off into the distance where the knight had disappeared.

"That sounded like Pap, you think that was his boss he was talking about…?"

Asten turned to her and began writing in his notebook.

'I do not know, but what would Papyrus be doing out here?'

"I don't know, but he sounded nervous, I hope he's alright…"

Just then, the two heard a rustling from within the grass. Asten made ready with his shield, his free hand was clenching the helm of his sword, ready for a fight.

Out of the grass came a small figure. It was the armless kid from the entrance of the cavern. Asten relaxed, taking his hand off his sword and letting his shield down to his side. The child began to speak.

"Yo… did you see the way she way staring at you guys…! That was so awesome! I'm sooo jealous! What did you do to get her attention…?"

Frisk and Asten gave each other a confusing look as the kid continued to stare at them. He spoke again.

"HaHa. C'mon! Let's go watch her beat up some bad guys!"

With this the armless kid began to run down the darkened trail, tripped over himself, and proceeded to run until he was out of sight. Frisk began to speak.

"Well that was weird, I hope he doesn't get lost down here…"

Asten began to write.

'Never mind that, what are we to do about that knight?'

"I don't know… ah… maybe we can talk to her…?"

Frisk shot him a hopeful look as he looked down at her, a questioning look in his eyes.

'Frisk, I don't think this a situation that calls for conversation.'

"I know, but… we can at least try… can't we…? Let's just keep moving and hope for the best… ok?"

She gave him a reassuring smile.

'Very well.'

Asten did not look convinced.

"Thank-you. Now… let's see were this path takes us."

They continued to walk down the pathway, the noise of the water was calming despite the encounter the two had just been through. Asten remained paranoid, looking at the edge of the darkness on either side of the path as he walked with Frisk.

They soon came to a river, spanning about fifteen feet in girth. They stopped, wondering as to how they would cross it. After a few moments, she noticed something hanging on the cavern wall. Frisk read the old and dusty sign that hung on the rock wall besides the path.

'When four bridge seeds align in the water, they will sprout.'

Around the corner she noticed what appeared to be unsprouted lily flowers laying on the ground.

"I got it!", she said quickly running over to the seeds, as Asten looked on.

She began laying the seeds into the water. As she did this, they began to expand, showing their vibrant pink pedals.

She felt very proud at figuring out how to form a bridge across the river, when she suddenly remembered something. 'How's Asten supposed to get across… there's no way the flowers could hold up all of that weight…' As she was thinking she heard a very loud and very repetitive metallic noise to the left of her. She looked behind her to see Asten sprinting at full speed. As he neared the edge of the river he jumped, planting the soles of his boots on the opposite side in a loud thud that shook the ground beneath her.

She was surprised that someone in a suit of armor could jump such a distance. She began to laugh and clap as she congratulated him on the performance.

"Bravo, bravo!"

The knight gave a bow as Frisk began to walk across the flower bridge. The two continued forth, into the rest of the cavern.


	9. Chapter 8-2: A Wolf in the Shade

"Like, we're on it Undyne."

RG 01 hung up his phone. RG 02 was standing next to him in the dark cavern, wondering what the conversation his friend was having was about.

"Like, what does Undyne want?" RG 02 asked, looking at RG 01 through the dim light of the cave.

"Undyne wants us to do stuff… something about capturing a human I guess…?"

"Woah, that's like, weird and stuff, what do you think it looks like bro?"

"I don't know bro, but we're totally going to like… catch it and stuff…"

"We're going to like… totally team attack it and stuff!"

"Yeah we are!"

"So… does she, like, want us to go somewhere…?"

"Oh… yah bro she wants us to like cut them off or something in Hotland bro…"

"Cool bro."

"Come on bro, I know… like, a shortcut."

With that RG 01 and RG 02 headed off, deeper within the cavern. The deeper they headed into the cavern, the more quiet it became. No more could they hear the rushing water from the rivers and waterfalls that occupied the marsh in the upper portion of the cavern. The ground was becoming dryer, giving the earth an almost dust-like texture. The more they traveled farther down, the more isolated they became. RB 02 had noticed that it had becoming darker as well, putting him on edge.

"Bro… I think this shortcut is like… kind of spooky bro…"

"Bro… you have like nothing to worry about…"

"Just saying bro…"

As they continued down the path, rocks began to pile up on either side of them, forming a natural hallway. It had become so dark, that neither of them could see thirty yards ahead of themselves. The silence had become deafening.

RB 01 noticed something in the dark as he looked down, he could barely make it out at first. Squinting his eyes through the slits of his helmet reviled it to him. He stopped and turned to RB 02.

"Bro look!"

RB 02 stopped and turned around, looking at RB 01.

"What is it bro?"

"Bro look!"

RB 01 was pointing at the ground. RB 02 scanned the spot of ground where 01 had pointed to. He still couldn't see anything in the dark.

"I don't get it, is this like a prank or something…?"

"Bro look harder! Those are like… footprints bro!"

RB 02 looked harder at the ground, revealing that 01 was indeed correct. There were footprints and on the righthand side of those footprints were what appeared to be a fine line dragged into the dirt.

"Bro… those footprints could belong to that human Undyne wanted us to catch."

RB 02 was becoming uneasy, the atmosphere of the part of the cave they were in was starting to unnerve him.

"I've got a bad feeling about this bro…"

"Like dude… we have to like totally capture this human and stuff bro! We can't just like… leave."

RB 01 began to follow the tracks, with 02 reluctantly following behind.

Apart from the metal clinking of their armor, not a sound could be heard within this natural hallway they found themselves in.

As they moved forward the rock walls began to open, forming a more open space. At the far end of this space was a tall cave opening. Despite being large in height, its girth was relatively shorter in comparison. The pair of royal guards could feel a light breeze seep from out of the opening.

The tracks led into this cave. RB 01 was getting himself prepared to capture this human, RB 02 on the other hand, was becoming more uneased. RB 01 could see that 02 seemed nervous as to where the tracks led.

"You ok bro?"

"I'm cool bro… just give me a minute…"

RB 02 shook out his arm, sword in hand. As he did this, he turned his helmet to look at 01.

"Ready bro!"

"Alright! Let's do this bro!"

They charged into the cave, one at a time with 01 at the lead.

When they entered the cave, they noticed that it was pitch black. They also noticed that they had lost each other when they charged in. RB 02 was the closest to the entrance. He began to walk further into the cave, looking for 01. He began to call out for him.

"01! YO 01…! WHERE ARE YOU DUDE!"

There was no response… only the whistling wind and his own echo called back to him.

He proceeded deeper into the cave, coming to a small opening. Above this opening was a small hole in the ceiling. Light tricked down from it, forming a small circle on the ground. In the middle of this circle was a pile of what appeared to be dust. Atop the dust pile laid a black helmet. A familiar… black… helmet…

"B-bro…!?"

RB 02 ran over to the pile of ashes, picking up the helmet and cradling it in his arms.

"B-bro! W-what did this to you…!"

A calm voice sounded out of the darkness. Making itself known to the trespasser who had invaded its den.

"Ah, another one… come to see what had happened to your friend did you…?"

A pair of radiant red eyes were staring back at RB 02 as he looked up.

He became petrified with fear. Everything in his mind told him to run, but he couldn't just let whatever this thing was get away with killing his friend.

"…y-you…! I-I'll kill you!"

The calm voice spoke once again from underneath those inhuman eyes.

"What a sick joke…"

The voice gave out a devilish chuckle before going silent again.

Suddenly, a figure lunged out of the darkness, plunging its sword into RB 02. He laid on his back, the large sword had penetrated through his armor, himself, and a couple of inches into the dirt beneath him. He looked up at the towering figure as it stood over him. It was illuminated by the light of the ceiling crack.

It wore a steel mask underneath what appeared to be a collar. The collar itself was made of a worn brown leather that covered most of the figures mask. A tall pointed helmet adorned its head and was covered in scratches and indentations alike. Stringy white hair fell out of this helm, the hair itself was straw-like in nature. A faded and tattered red cape flowed from the shoulders of the being and down its back. Its right arm held no armor, but the left side however, had metal plates running down its lanky bicep. It met with a shiny metal gauntlet. In that gauntlet was a jagged dagger, its helm was made of wood.

The lanky figure stared down at 02 as he muttered his last guttural words.

"W-Why…?"

The figure gave no reply, instead it plunged its dagger into RB 02, ending his suffering. It pulled the sword out of royal guard as he turned into ash.

Slowly, it walked back into the darkness of the cave, dragging its great sword along the ground as he did so.

That same calm voice spoke out against the silence once more, before leaving it in peace.

"I pity the sorry souls…"

A devilish chuckle followed, but soon faded, giving way… to the deafening silence of the cave.

 _ **[Author's Note:** For those of you enjoying the story so far thank-you so much for the support. I am very sorry I haven't been updating as frequently recently. School and work are about to start for me in a couple days and it's been hectic trying to get ready for it. I'll update new chapters for the story as soon as i finish them, but for the time being it's going to be coming at a much slower rate than before. The absolute latest time period for the chapter after next will be around Thanksgiving of this year, but I'll try and squeeze in a couple chapters between now and then. Again, sorry about that, and I hope you'll enjoy my future chapters to this story. This story is far from over and I'll keep working on it till its completion, whenever that may be. Thanks. **]**_


End file.
